Election 2011: Football fans protest government 'anti - hooligan' laws

Football fans' battle bus; photo - PAP

The Nationwide Union of Fans' Associations (NZSK), which proclaims itself as being against the re-election of Tusk's Civic Platform party, began its bus tour on Tuesday in Warsaw with a press conference outside parliament.’

The bus will follow PM Tusk’s own campaign battle bus known as the Tusk-o-bus.

Fans want to collect signatures calling for amendments to new laws signed by President Bronislaw Komorowski last month, pertaining to the handling of mass events in Poland ahead of the Euro 2012 football championships.

The fans’ association want to counter the negative stereotyping of football fans. NZSK claims that “the media and politicians promote an image of terrible hooligans.”

The recently passed laws – which allow police greater powers in detaining potential hooligans, as well as on the spot justice by stadium courts - come in the wake of a series of embarrassing incidents in Polish football, with fans rioting at home and abroad.

NZSK wants an end to the so-called “Club Law” which specifies that event organisers can ban fans who have broken rules for periods of up to two years. Likewise, the organisation is uneasy about laws that empower the voivoide (regional governor) to cancel a match

Meanwhile, although NZSK has attacked the policies of the current ruling coalition, it has expressed that it is up to Poles who they vote for on Sunday

The football fans’ bus is set to travel to the cities of Lodz, Poznan, Kielce and Bialystok over the coming days, with fan representatives from each city joining the coach at each step of the way. (nh/pg)

Source: PAP